Love and Honor
by In vitro
Summary: When the throne is about to fall, there is a little time left to tell the truth.


_This is the English translation of my story "__Любовь __и __честь__"._  
_I want to say my best sincere thanks to __**ebon-drake**__, who was so kind to check it! _

_Title_: **Love and Honor**  
_Author_: In vitro  
_Beta_: ebon-drake  
_Genres_: drama, darkfiс, SF, gen/het, ust  
_Rating_: PG-13  
_Characters_: Allura, Lotor  
_Size_: mini  
_Warnings_: kind of AU, open ending  
_Rights_: All rights to the animated series Voltron belong to their respective owners.  
_Abstract_: When the throne is about to fall, there is a little time left to tell the truth.

.~.~.~.

Allura entered the throne room. More precisely, droids smartly dragged her captive into the room and then immediately rejoined the others who guarded the door from the outside.

"How are you doing, my Princess?" the voice of Lotor, contrary to her expectations, came not from the high dais that the throne stood upon, but rather from the center of the room, "I apologize for the rush and perhaps rudeness of my guards, but alas, there is not much time left and we still need to discuss some things."

Lotor sat on the right side of the hall at a small marble table on which laid a big crystal ball in a bowl with three claws and a carved golden pitcher with sharp edges from which the young King poured himself some fluid into a beautiful cup made in the same predatory design. Allura noted another cup that was on the table, and despite the fact that he hadn't offered her anything yet, she firmly decided for herself that she wouldn't be drinking anything here.

Another explosion near the main tower made a few small stones from the walls fall to the floor, and some plaster from the ceiling above the entrance of the hall crumbled away, as well. Allura shrieked involuntarily, but was otherwise unhurt. She was already aware that the bombings and devastating phaser beam attacks that the castle was being subjected to had gone on unabated for several hours now, but the loud sounds and accompanying shaking that she was experiencing now had not been felt as clearly back in the room where she had been held beforehand.

Lotor stood up from the table and quickly walked over to her.

"Don't worry, light of my eyes. The central tower of the castle, which is where we currently are, is strong enough to withstand any destructive effects, and all windows with an external view have been sealed," despite his soothing words, the tone of his voice sounded concerned, "My enemies know that I'm here, but they are unlikely to completely destroy my residence. Were I in their place, I would want to witness the fall of Doom through the downfall of its crowned King."

Allura looked up at Lotor and was surprised that in such a difficult moment for him... he was smiling. No, it wasn't his usual broad, triumphant smile when he was happy about some victory or was anticipating the performance of his villainous plans. Now, he smiled a little sadly, with only the corners of his mouth. He looked calm, even slightly distant, as if already resigned to the inevitable. It seemed odd to her. She was used to seeing Lotor active, often aggressive, always purposefully rushing to implement his goals, fighting to the last. Allura suddenly felt uneasy and looked away over his shoulders, carefully examining the mural depicting the battle of gladiator Robeasts in the arena on the wall.

"Come, my sweet," the King of Planet Doom took her hand and beckoned for her to follow him, "It's no good if the Princess of Arus remains standing in the threshold."

Allura did not resist, although she wished that he had untied her hands instead of gallantly helping her to sit down in the antique chair by the marble table. The intricate knots binding her wrists were not so tight that they prevented all movement, but she would have preferred to be without them altogether so that she could stretch down and access the dagger hidden in her boot and use it force Lotor to let her go. But, he hadn't, and it was obvious to her that the King of Doom had plans to present her to Emperor Zeppo as a hostage to be used in the eventual blackmailing of Arus in exchange for the preservation of his own life. Otherwise, why would Lotor be keeping her near him now?

Allura looked at the crystal ball. She knew that the new King of Doom had received the magical artifact from Haggar and that this thing allowed someone to observe what was happening in the different corners of the universe. Apparently, the ball hadn't yet lost its magical power since Lotor had been carefully looking into it when Allura had first appeared in the hall. At the moment, however, it looked as clear as glass.

Perhaps the King of Doom hadn't wanted Allura to see the armada of ships under the leadership of Commander Hazar from the Drule Empire sent to destroy the remnants of his home planet and seize the citadel. For many years, Lotor had played the role of conqueror, and now such a reshuffling of forces seemed completely absurd to her. Yet without hints from the crystal ball, Allura guessed that the circumstances were very bad now. However, she was not going to discuss anything with him. Instead, she had to think about Arus and how to protect her home planet from enslavement by the Drules, who were now playing the final chords for Doom and would go to invade her home planet afterwards. She would also need to plan on how she would escape from the castle without getting caught by any patrols and then find the remains of the Blue Lion, which had supposedly been destroyed by Lotor. Perhaps it would be possible to repair it somehow. Voltron was the only force mighty enough to protect Arus.

"I am sorry, my fair lady, that we haven't had a chance to talk in a relaxed atmosphere until now."

"In a relaxed atmosphere?" despite her decision to ignore the King, Allura couldn't resist expressing genuine surprise.

"Oh, isn't this so?" Lotor smiled a little wider, lounging in his chair at the table across from her, "The soundproofing is a little broken, though... I'm sorry, joy of my days. But, we are alone now, with none of your cronies around to prevent our sweet conversation with their pathetic manners and making me fight or retreat, nor my stubborn father, who was capable of spoiling my plans or forcing me to commit reckless acts. All those who could betray me are dead, and those who have already done so are storming the castle alongside the Drules now."

Lotor interrupted his speech for a second, reaching back to the pitcher for a drink, but continued after pouring the scarlet liquid into his cup. Allura unconsciously licked her lips.

"A toast to the fond memory of Haggar! On the contrary, I always thought that she would be the first in line to betray me. I was wrong... Before Mogor blew her head off, the old witch managed to make enough Robeasts to stand in defense of the citadel until the very end. A few dozen elite robot guards also still operate, thus why you, my lady, and I have the opportunity now to enjoy the pleasant company of each other." The young King winked and made a movement with his cup towards Allura, as if drinking to her health.

Lotor's explanation seemed strange to Allura. In fact, he hadn't explained anything at all. However, she hadn't really asked him anything, either, right?

"Why are you sitting here? Why not to fight or escape?" asked Allura.

The King of Doom thoughtfully drank another sip from his carved cup, still not inviting her to drink. Despite the extremely serious situation and uncertainty of even the very near future, Allura managed to get angry. Lotor spoke unctuously to her, but still behaved in an unseemly manner. He crossed his legs - such bad manners! Kings did not behave like this. However, the forces of the Drules had defeated his army. It seemed to her that he didn't see the point in behaving formally anymore.

"Do you want me to offer to fight them alone? With one laser sword against thousands of specially armored units?" Lotor laughed so fervently that Allura doubted his sanity, "Alas, the old witch didn't have time to turn me into a giant Robeast, in which case I could've tried... So, you are flattering my abilities, my fine Princess of Arus! However, if 'Daddy' were still alive, he would no doubt accuse me of cowardice and incompetence, as usual."

"But still... you have not given up on your home planet," Allura clarified softly.

Lotor scratched his chin.

"Home planet? Hmm... I'm a half blood. As for why I'm here - there is no heroism in it. Cossack the traitor and his henchmen have taken or damaged almost all of my flying cruisers and would have cut my throat, but Queen Merla... ah, the eternal memory of her... repulsed the first wave of attacks and managed to convey the message to me... That, however, did not prevent my harem from escaping using the last working starship. My attempts to reorganize the remnants of my troops also failed - it turned out that traitors, like worms, have been nibbling at the power of my army from within for a long time, and the slave revolts destabilized the situation even further... You know, one leader is able to control a kingdom, but once he loses his authority, he may soon lose everything."

Allura thought that Lotor was going to add something to this speech, but he suddenly went silent, lost in his thoughts. The following few minutes that passed were burdensome to her.

Allura hated to renew the conversation, but her captor had not even responded when another strong shock wave from a series of enemy projectiles shook the building again and they heard the howls of another dying Robeast. Her task now was to clarify the situation so she could plan further actions. How much longer would the giant monsters hold the line? How much longer would the castle be able to hold up against further attacks? The most valuable information from all that Lotor had just told her was that there were no more ships. So, was there no chance to fly away from this planet, even if she managed to get away from him?

Allura could not resist specifying to the King of Doom his major mistake.

"If only you hadn't spent the remnants of your loyal combat-ready army on the battle with Voltron, destroyed the Blue Lion, and kidnapped me at the same time your planet is on the verge of falling, but had instead tried to strengthen your position and find allies, then maybe..."

Lotor frowned, causing the two vertical creases in his forehead to deepen. Earlier, it had seemed to Allura that the King did not have any creases at all on his face, and that it was not possible for him to express any emotions besides anger and malice. However, she had never watched him this closely before. He had said it himself earlier - they had never before had the opportunity to be this close to each other in a relaxed atmosphere such as this.

"I am surprised, my cleverness, that my strategy regarding Arus still causes you issues," Lotor shrugged, "I was always very honest in my intentions towards your planet. And you."

"I have no issues!" Allura protested coldly, "You only want me as a hostage to exchange for security guarantees and perhaps even the position of curator of Doom under the new ruler to whom you would swear allegiance. You know perfectly well that Arus will only surrender unconditionally, despite my pleas, if their Princess remains alive. Voltron's great power is known throughout the universe, and it is obvious that the Drules will take advantage of your 'sweet' offer."

Lotor placed his empty cup to the side and looked at Allura for some time with an intensity that made her blush and feel forced to look away. Another brazen familiarity of his! It looked like he was not worried at all about a few more Robeast deaths, an indication that the hour of doom was nigh.

"And it seems that you, my dear prisoner, are still hoping that by some marvelous way the Lions will manage to rescue you before the fall of my castle defenses."

"I... I think they will try," Allura answered honestly.

"Well, of course," Lotor chuckled in reply.

He turned closer to the table and began to move his fingers over the surface of the crystal ball, gazing into its depths. Whatever he was looking at, she could not see it; beneath his hands, which were, as usual, dressed in long, white gloves that were part of the standard uniform, there was nothing but transparent crystal. As Allura knew, even after he got the crown, Lotor still didn't wear it often, nor did he wear the crimson-colored toga of kingship. Now, he was even without a helmet.

"Is it possible..?" Allura hesitated.

"Yes, my angel?" Lotor lost his occupied look and raised a whitish eyebrow.

"May I see...?" she asked quietly.

"Go ahead."

But instead of pushing the ball closer to her, as the table was just a meter and a half in length, the King of Doom stood up, gently took the artifact in hand, and brought it closer to the Princess, placing it next to her. When Lotor bent over the table, a long strand of platinum hair moved from the back of his shoulders and lightly brushed her cheek. Allura instinctively wanted to wipe this place as if it were dirty, but her hands were tied and such a gesture would have looked ridiculous. Naturally, Allura always tried to maintain her dignity in any and all difficult situations, and so she remained sitting as she was, proudly straightening her back and neck with her hands folded in her lap. Allura was secretly glad that she was dressed in her regular strict uniform for flying Blue Lion rather than an evening dress. Even though she always tried to maintain her dignity in difficult situations, which were often caused by Lotor trying to provoke, tempt, or seduce her, his closeness always made her feel nervous.

Meanwhile, the King of Doom touched some invisible sensitive points on the sphere so that its crystal-clear surface went foggy with whitish mist and then gradually thinned, transforming into a vivid picture of the planet Doom.

Troops were disembarking from big starships with emblems of the Drule Empire on them and were being met by defectors from Doom that were ready to submit to their new ruler. Smaller units of the enemy fleet were patrolling the airspace. There were too many of them. There was too much smoke and flame, along with the corpses of slaves and the remains of exploded Robeasts scattered around the crumpled locations and ruins. The ragged, grayish mist that normally covered the surface of the planet had acquired an ashy hue. The central castle, resembling a giant hydra, was guarded by a few dozen giant gladiator Robeasts. They were the constant target of enemy fire, but some of them were able to destroy the Drule death machines that came too close to them. However, only more and more came in their place.

Allura, who had always had an aversion for this planet, now felt sick. She could almost smell and taste the stench of death and decay. She turned away.

"I know that you dislike my world and what's left of it," Lotor nodded, noticing her shocked reaction, "Do you want to escape from this and look at your friends again, goddess of my dreams?"

Allura's heart immediately beat faster after hearing this offer, and she looked at Lotor, whose face, as it turned out, was now just about ten inches away from her own. He smiled again enigmatically, and he smelled of grapes, apparently because of the wine or juice he had been drinking.

Unaware of his trick, Allura nodded, and after just a moment, she was gazing at a sunny image that had replaced the former oppressive one and recognized the native places of her heart. However, the pictures were changing, not to new panoramas of green valleys, mountain streams, flowing rivers, vast wheat fields, and smiling, hardworking locals, but to disturbing visions, almost like the ones she had seen on Doom.

All across the country, troops were being mobilized and trainings to prepare them for meeting the enemy were being performed. Special machines were digging trenches and bunkers were being built. At the same time, defense systems were being tested, protective fields at strategic objects were being adjusted, and women, children and the elderly were being evacuated to the periphery. These tasks were being carried out under the command of Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran. Nanny was preparing and checking medical services and the mice were organizing the bigger animals to help people. Apparently, all of the organization of resistance was being carried out very quickly and smoothly. Allura was very happy to see that all of the people of Arus were very serious in their intention to resist the enemy, and the whole of her soul was with them, but she was still somewhat surprised by the fact that none of her friends had tried to save her.

Allura guessed at once that she had failed to hide these emotions. Having noticed his prisoner's puzzled expression, Lotor touched the crystal ball and the picture inside immediately extinguished. The young King then stepped back, turned the chair on which she sat away from the table, and suddenly squatted down in front of her, very close in his proximity to her. He was quite tall, so their faces were almost on the same level, his just slightly below hers.

"That's bad luck, right?" Lotor hissed, shaking his head, "The peerless Princess, figuring on the help of her friends, and they happen to not be going to save her, despite her repeated statements of always being ready to do everything for her planet."

"You're a monster, Lotor! Unlike you, I never thought of personal gain when my people were suffering!"

Allura wanted to hit his smug face very painfully with her foot, but was very surprised to find that she could not budge. It turned out that broad retaining straps were holding her captive in her seated position. When had the villain tied her body in such a way that she hadn't even noticed?

"Ah, you're so predictable, my beauty! It's so easy to provoke you just by merely hinting that you may be thinking something dishonorable," Lotor reached out to touch her cheek, but Allura grimaced and sharply turned her face away to the side, so he changed his mind, "But, of course, you never revise your principles. Everything you think about is divided into black and white: the righteous and the unrighteous, contempt and hatred for those whom you hate and care and love for those you love. Knowing this, it is easy to manipulate you, because you're able, thanks to your naive beliefs, to trust everyone and everything. You will always be pure and innocent in your incredible openness and honesty. Honor and courage accompany the other virtues embodied by you, the veritable first lady of Planet Arus... But you deserve better, you _have_ to rule the universe. How much I wanted to give you this opportunity!.. Even if everything around us was to become covered with plague-ridden space dust and all life in the universe forever frozen by the cold and snow from Planet Niv with no grain of hope left, you would still be able to transform this harsh reality by simply giving everyone your light and warmth."

"Why these long flatteries all of a sudden, Lotor?" Allura asked quietly, becoming alert to the change in conversation to more personal matters.

The King of Doom smiled ironically, stood up for a second, and… bowed gracefully before her on one knee and saluted.

"I'm at your feet, my dear, what more? Why not ask you for the hundredth, or maybe it's the thousandth, time to marry me, what more?"

"_No_!" Allura eagerly hastened to exclaim in response, promptly forgetting that she was not in the right position to provoke a conflict, "Of course not! I have repeatedly told you that I will _never_ become your Queen."

She went back to being angry because Lotor was behaving inappropriately. He was pronouncing such things that she did not want to hear from him in any case. Meanwhile, the tower was swaying periodically and a huge chandelier was threatening to fly off from the ceiling. The best time to run away from here was now!

But Lotor did not seem angry at her newest rejection.

"Because the Kingdom does not exist anymore?" he asked thoughtfully, returning to his initial seated position with crossed legs.

The minute of the King kneeling down before her in deliberate grace to propose marriage was now over. He began to behave naturally again, no longer looking at the woman he had unsuccessfully pursued for so long to be his bride, but was instead examining the patterns on the hilt of his sword as he repeatedly took the blade a few inches out and inserted it back into its sheath.

"You know, joy of my days, my 'Daddy's' method of education was always based on these simple principles," Allura was sure that Lotor was going to continue in his harassment of her, but for some reason, he had changed the subject of his monologue again, "Conquer, enslave, conquer, enslave, be evil, and so on and so forth... But, as it turns out, and you yourself talk about it, too, all of the aggression, terror, and the aim at expanding aren't good enough to become a full-fledged Emperor of the universe..."

The young King paused for a moment, again lost in his thoughts, and Allura stopped twitching in her attempts at escape from her constraints. He began to speak softly and not about her, and for some reason, Allura wanted to listen to what he would say next.

"Zarkon," Lotor continued after a pause, "However, did not strive for me to surpass him, and tried his best to save for me the status of second violin, even if it came to one or two planets remaining unconquered. He played on my ambitions, wanting to leave everything for himself. My dear 'Daddy' was not going to share anything and planned to rule forever, so therefore, he nurtured in me the qualities that were expedient to him, in order that I would become a shortsighted ally who did all the dirty work... He did not bother to hire a good swordsman to train me, fearing one day to be beheaded by his own son. He did not allow court sorcerers to teach me their skills so that I would not one day give him poison. He was so afraid of betrayal that he did not even trust those who could be reliable. Never believing for a second that I would ever become King because he was confident that he had very successfully brought me up as an idler, my 'Daddy' did not put into my head the understanding that in order to save the kingdom, we need allies, spies, reasonable staff purges... and also that the demonstrative method of educating slaves in the craft of arena fighting is not the most effective way to save power. He did not even allow anyone to love him... the old fool!"

Lotor spat thickly to the side and rested his chin on his hands, which were folded in his lap. Under the bright artificial lighting of the throne room, the long, snow-white hair of the young King shimmered like it was made of pearl, and his narrowed, yellow cat eyes reflected undisguised disdain. For the first time in her life, Allura thought that Lotor seemed relatively harmless and... so ordinary, just like a disappointed human. In any case, she did not expect such a sharp frankness from him.

Allura awkwardly tried to find the right words because she felt that, no matter what, she now needed to tell him something.

"Don't say that about your father! Zarkon was a tyrant, but he was your father and..."

However, it seemed that those were not the words Lotor wanted to hear from her now.

"Ah, my delicate flower, you know and understand so little about the moral convictions of the world population of Doom! Forget everything I've just said. I drank too much wine," Lotor, who had just been examining the soles of her boots, raised a gloomy look at his prisoner, but Allura was convinced that, contrary to his assurances, he was actually quite sober, "Of course, you've always been too busy with all the affairs of Arus, thinking about high matters, and you should not be interested in things which do not concern you and seem disgusting. You were right - we have _no_ moral principles. Everyone lives just for themselves, always ready to stab each other in the back when the appropriate opportunity presents itself. We put up with this or that state of affairs just because we are always waiting on the right occasion to get more power."

Allura sighed disappointedly.

"But why do you need it? Why seek for new conquests from year to year? Why not to try to live and build a bright future on your own, not on the bones, pain, and tears of rebels by the hands and suffering of miserable slaves?"

"Such naivety!" Lotor laughed in reply, "How can you not understand that authority is _everything_? That is something worth living for and aspiring to. It's impossible to live on Doom without understanding this principle."

"But what would happen if you managed to conquer the entire universe?" Allura did not give up, "If you became the Great Emperor? Would you be happy if there wasn't anything more to conquer?"

"That is impossible; there will always be something to conquer."

Alas, Allura retroactively realized that her last question had been too reckless when the King of Doom rose from the floor, walked behind her chair, and gently put his arms around her shoulders. Allura immediately felt a wave of unpleasant tingling running through her body. Not that she was afraid that Lotor would afford himself something extra just before his enemies captured the castle - she had a dagger and she was ready to defend her reputation until the end, or perish. Just… the thought that Lotor would soon present her to the Drules in exchange for the preservation of his life was one that she didn't want to think about. Of course, Coran and the guys were very wise not to rush to rescue her this time. Instead, they were focusing on the defense of Arus with the remaining Lions. She did not regret their choice. Allura had long ago prepared for the fact that, sooner or later, she would be put in a situation where she would have to face her problems alone.

"Do you want me to untie you, my gladness?" Lotor gently whispered right into her ear.

Such an unexpected offer, which sounded almost like an intimacy, seemed absurd to Allura at the moment. Lotor had to have an understanding that she still had the intention of escaping!

However, without waiting for her consent, he slowly moved his hands from her shoulders down to her wrists, tracing her forearms as he did procedure did not exactly resemble a release, but rather a mysterious ritual, and Allura sat motionless, even though the retaining straps of the chair had already snaked back inside the armrests.

She felt Lotor's breath in her left ear and on the back of her head, and his white hair framed a few blonde curls that escaped from her high hairstyle. The young King gently covered her bound palms with his hands - the thin leather of his uniform gloves was surprisingly soft to the touch. Allura noticed that they were perfectly clean - no hint of dirt or blood. He also seemed to have cleaned up his dress uniform and sword before their meeting.

"The knots were made by my best executioner right before I unfortunately had to execute him for treason... Will you let me?"

Lotor pulled away from her, again without waiting for her consent, but only in order to take his gloves off and then put them on the table.

Allura noted distantly for herself the combined beauty of her skin color next to his own, a juxtaposition of creamy paleness against lavender blue. Or was that color cornflower blue? What was its name? Periwinkle?

She had never seen Lotor's hands ungloved before, but, despite her assumptions, they weren't as dire-looking as those of Zarkon. His fingers were long and thin, his wrists elegant. There were no claws, distortions in his skin, or protruding tendons. Lotor had said something about the fact that he was a half blood… It seemed surprising that his hands, so very similar to human hands, could grip a sword and were stained with the blood of so many innocents. How much evil had Lotor committed with those beautiful hands of his? And right now he was slowly untying the knots that bound her wrists. Was it really his intention to liberate her?

No, it would be fallacy to believe that he would do this. This was just another attempt to toy with her. It was quite possible that they would never have another chance to meet: Emperor Zeppo, who was confident enough in the strength of his legions, would probably not exchange her and simply place her in his harem. But if she ran away now, she could perhaps hide in one of the tricky corners of the castle and then steal a one-man enemy spaceship.

Despite the vague game Lotor seemed to be playing with her, Allura decided that she would run away once he untied her hands and the chair no longer restrained her movements. Once the King of Doom stepped back to the side and allowed her to stand up, she bent down and promptly pulled her dagger from her boot. A second later she was holding it to his throat.

However, it seemed that he wasn't even trying to prevent her actions, although he had had enough time to do so. He wasn't even surprised!

"So, that's how things are now?" Lotor grinned, "Is this how you show your gratitude for your freedom, my stubborn beauty?"

"I'm not going to be gifted to the Drules alive, do you understand? But I want to try to escape. When they break into the castle, I'll hide somewhere and then try to enter one of their ships, and you will not stop me. Is this clear?"

To demonstrate her seriousness, Allura pushed the tip of the dagger against the skin at the base of Lotor's neck, although not enough to actually hurt him. However, he merely continued to smile at her, so much so that even the creases in his forehead disappeared... and then he suddenly jerked forward.

Allura gasped when the blade immediately became stained with his blood, which was now trickling down his neck and onto the top of his breastplate. She instinctively pulled her arm down from his neck and then was immediately grabbed by the wrist. The dagger, her most powerful argument in the bargain of her escape, fell and clattered onto the floor with a nasty sound.

"Never put a knife to somebody's throat unless you are prepared to follow through," he warned Allura earnestly, his smile vanishing as he pulled her closer to him with his free arm.

Allura started jerking herself away from him, desperate to tear herself from his embrace. She even tried to hit him with her knee a few times, but he paid little attention to her attempts at breaking free from him. He was too strong for her to physical overpower.

"Okay, enough already," the King of Doom hugged her so tightly that Allura could hear the sound of his heart, "I was going to tell you that there's no time left to chat about this and that and that we need to get down to business, but you, my wild orchid, have gotten ahead of me with your actions. So listen attentively to me now. I..."

However, he didn't get a chance to finish this phrase because the castle shook with a sudden violence caused by the latest phaser attack. The royal regalia, kept on a pedestal in a special niche behind the throne, fell, and pieces from numerous wall sconces in the shapes of decorative chimeras rained down like shards of crystal onto the granite floor not far from the couple.

Lotor lifted Allura and was going to carry her to the opposite side of the hall where it was perhaps safer, but he stopped when he heard someone knocking hurriedly on the door.

"I don't want to hear anything from you!" the Princess panicked, realizing that the hall was about to be filled with new enemies, "It would be better if you killed me instead. I will not let my people be blackmailed by the Drules!"

"What's the matter?" Lotor, ignoring her pleas, barked at whomever was trying to get into the throne room.

However, it was just one of his nameless droid guards that appeared in the doorway.

"I'm sorry," it bowed and spoke after receiving permission to speak, "But I was ordered to report to you when the enemy finally breached the castle..."

"Understood. The order remains the same - defend the castle down to the last soldier. Go!" ordered the King of Doom.

"Yes, sir!" the robot saluted and quickly shut the door.

A moment later, Allura heard a nasty hissing sound and noticed that the double doors of the entrance to the throne room were being fused together.

"They are welding the entrance shut," Lotor explained to the Princess, answering her unasked question, as he finally brought her to the safe part of the hall like he had planned earlier, "This will buy us a few extra minutes."

"For what purpose?" Allura's despair turned to anger again, "Do you want to enjoy me before giving me over to them?"

"Only with your permission," Lotor grinned slyly, "So… will you at least let me kiss you in farewell, my tenderness?"

"_Never_!" Allura firmly rejected his offer, intensely turning her head to the side at the same time he put her down and hugged her tightly again.

The blood from the wound on his neck was no longer running down it, but Allura still managed to stain the left side of her chest in her earlier desperate struggle to break free from the King's embarrassing embrace. The fact that Lotor had red blood like her troubled her for some reason, even angered her. She could not understand how it was possible that a monster like him could have red blood, human hands, and such a soulful gaze.

"It's a pity, my sweetheart," Lotor's sigh was strained, "Well, then, let me say just one thing, I hope that you will appreciate this… You know, your Blue Lion isn't actually destroyed or even damaged."

"How can this be?!" Allura gasped in disbelief, "But you were going to..."

The King of Doom shook his head.

"No, wasn't going to. It is located in a secret storage area that you can get to through this very passage," with those words, Lotor pressed a certain combination of stones in the wall, and a secret passage behind a mural depicting a battle scene between the kings Alfor and Zarkon was revealed, "I treated the outer surface of your Lion with a special medium which I bought... well… received from the residents of Lira. It can make your Lion appear invisible so you will be able leave Doom without being detected. In addition, you will have an advantage over the enemy since they still believe that it is no longer possible to recreate Voltron. Coran and your comrades have been notified that you will be back soon; thus you can still protect Arus."

Allura abruptly stopped trying to resist his warm embrace and tried swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. She looked into Lotor's eyes closely.

"But why... why did you kidnap me?"

"I've told you already," the young King hissed, "To finally get the opportunity to talk with you in a relaxed atmosphere, and our interactions were more or less successful. Also, to provide the Drules with an unexpected surprise... Now go! Close the passage by pressing down on the black stone jutting out from the side of the chamber."

After his words, Lotor relaxed his arms and released her.

A minute passed. Because Allura remained where she stood, he had to push her. Lotor stepped aside.

"Come on, come on, this time I'm not lying. You have to return home."

"But what... what about you?" she asked quietly instead of moving.

"Well, Allura, I should wear the crown, as befits the King of Doom, at least while I am still able to do this... By the way, where is it? It's time to try it on, for soon I will have guests."

With those words, Lotor abruptly turned from the bewildered Princess and walked away. Picking up the fallen regalia, he went up the red carpeted stairs to the throne.

Allura still hesitated. Would the passage really bring her to the Blue Lion so she could return home? Or was this another treacherous trap?

Obviously, Lotor knew that she would linger in indecision. He turned towards her while halfway up the stairs and blew her a kiss.

"Farewell, my love!"

Allura was so deeply lost in her thoughts that it took her some time to realize what he was saying. Even from this distance, it was easy to hear him now. The furious roars and groans of agony from the Robeasts could no longer be heard, and the bombings seemed to have stopped. She still heard a ringing in her ears, though. Now, everything was covered with a depressing silence.

Allura stood still, confused as to why Lotor had not wanted to escape on her Lion himself. When the sound of scuffling from outside the barricaded entrance to the hall, and then shots and the groaning of the heavy iron door as it was damaged by something huge, reached her ears, she realized that Lotor was right, there was no time left.

He was sitting on his throne, wearing a blood-red toga, spectacular crown, and holding an arm-like scepter in his hands. The rightful ruler of Doom's posture was full of tenacity as he waited for the inevitable. He no longer looked human as he had before to Allura for just a brief moment, but neither did he look like his father. Obviously not like him.

...Much later after departing from the fallen Planet Doom for Arus, invisible to the enemy armada of starships, Allura remembered that she had left her dagger somewhere in the throne room, and then gently touched her left breast, which was stained by the blood of the last crowned ruler of the destroyed planet.

_End_


End file.
